The executrix
It was time. She had cried her eyes out for a few days, packed a few things, made a few enchantments for the house and bought the groceries. And of course, like any good mother, she had left Cho a note.
"I'll be out for a few days on some Ministry business."
That was the only note she left her daughter before stepping out of her house into the cold Scottish rain. There was no way in hell, Chang Ying Fei, a sensible woman of thirty-seven could explain what she was about to do. Well to be fair, it was always difficult to explain what Sirius Black wanted people to do. And if that little asshole, had not decided to just die, she wouldn't have been bound.
See, the tricky little thing about wizard wills, is that unlike human wills it wasn't just codicils and statements about the disposition of assets. Magic folk had the tendency to hold grudges and the wonderful person who first created the structure of the Wizard Will and who pushed for its recognition by the Ministry of Magic was none other than Hesper Black, a sodden bitch, who willed her daughter-in-law, Walburga Black, the cruciatus curse. Now that wasn't to mean that she taught Walburga the cruciatus curse but that she had her son-in-law, Ignatius Prewett, to execute the cruciatus curse, on her lovely charm of a daughter-in-law.
Two years ago, before Sirius died, he deigned her the pleasure of a little visit, outside the Ministry of Magic.
His hair was long and untangled, like a Pantene commercial, as he leaned charmingly against his monstrosity of a motorcycle.
"Hello Ying!" he waved as he saw her exit the phone booth.
"What the fuck." Her eyes shot open, her hand grasping for the wand hidden in her robes. "Black. You're supposed to be in Azkaban."
He sneered.
"I got out. Wasn't too difficult."
"Fuck you, Black. We're outside the Ministry of Magic. There are muggles here." Her hand still on her wand, she strode closer to him threateningly.
"Haven't you heard, Ying? I killed 12 of them." He howled in laughter. Threw his head back and gave one of the stage laughs he gave when he was being ironic. Fucking drama queen.
"You're deranged."
"At least I'm not a murderer." He cocked his head towards the motorcycle, "You coming?"
"Fine."
It took two hours and fourteen shots of firewhisky for her to accept Sirius Black's explanation and his proposal. Unfortunately for YingFei, she had always been a sucker for Black's whining and by-god did he whine that night.
"Please Ying. Please. I'll give you my motorcycle."
"How old do you think I am Black? 14? That's not going to work."
"What about money?"
"No. Merlin knows what you have on your will." She downed another shot of firewhisky. Good, she could still hold her liquor.
"For old time's sake?" He wheedled, leaning against her.
"For goodness sake." She muttered.
To be fair, it was her fault. She was 11, standing on Platform 9 ¾ s, she was familiar with English but it was a hesitant friend; she spoke it haltingly with an obviously forced RP accent. RP, because that was how all the lords and ladies spoke.
Her parents were standing with her, fussing over the condition of her suitcase, one wheel was broken but it was okay, because there were teachers who could help her move it. Her mother was dressed in her best Qipao; her father was wearing his only suit; she smelled strongly of white lotus oil and her robe was patched with different shades of black cotton.
She was struggling to get her suitcases on the train. Her father pushed the suitcase from the platform and she pulled with as much vigour as she could. Noone stopped at the spectacular sight, a soon-to-be witch and two muggles trying to place two abnormally large cases on to a magic train. Well, one person did. A young boy, black hair flapping into his eyes, waved his wand with ease and both suitcases shrunk into a manageable size and weight.
And that was how Lee Ying Fei, now Chang Ying Fei, met Sirius Black.
-.-
She was on a Virgin Train to London. It was absolutely ridiculous – £100 just to get to London, after a 2 hour delay at the Edinburgh station, for a four hour train ride with absolutely nothing to do. But this was the only way no one could track her. It was bad enough Cho had gotten in trouble in school for Dumbledore's Army. This was a bad political climate and the best thing to do to stay alive was to keep your head down and become invisible.
She opened the will she had signed two years ago.
Dear Ying, (Ah! Black's disgustingly messy script)
Sorry for all the crap. The massive scare outside MOM, a couple days back, and when I didn't tell you I didn't actually kill 12 people. I know we are supposed to be mates but it's a little difficult seeing that I was arrested and under the watch of a couple of Dementors.
The point is: you're my best mate aside from Remus. But you have a knack for surviving unlike Remus who has gotten himself into quite a few scrapes. I know, I used to rag you for not supporting Dumbledore outright when You-Know-Who was about (I'm calling him that because you're not a big fan of the name No Nose) but obviously unlike quite a few of my mates, you are alive and did not end up in Azkaban, which probably means that you were sort of right.
Sorry I'm deviating from the subject – anyway I, Sirius Orion Black, name you, Lee Ying Fei, to act as the executrix of my will to dispense with my estate and act as per my wishes from beyond the grave. The terms of my will are: -
14 absolutely ridiculous terms and 14 people she had to visit. Great, thanks Black.
"Hey Ying!" Black bounded into her corner of the Astronomy Tower.
"What?" she snapped. Her hair was tied up into a messy bun, ink was smeared across her fingers and the tip of her quill was on the verge of breaking. Transfiguration had never been her strong suit. Something, something about having a constructed form of the object in her had.
"Guess who got with Mckinnon?" He grinned, jumping on to her desk.
"You did Wonder boy. Yay you!" she put down her quill and pointed her wand towards it, transfiguring it into a pen. "Fuck it, Mcgonagall would rather read my un-smudged handwriting."
"All thanks to you, Ying. Mckinnon is head over heels in love with me."
"Yes Sirius. Because she's been in love with you since first year," she picked up the pen and began to scribble formulas on to a piece of parchment.
"She snogged me and my heart exploded. I'm in … looooooveeee," he sang, lying across the desk.
"No Sirius. You say this every time a moderately attractive girls snogs you. And then you fall out of lust once you shag her." Ying Fei rolled her eyes. She went back to drawing her scribbled out formula.
"What are you doing?" Sirius conjured a pack of cigarettes into his hands.
"String theory and Transfiguration, I'm going to prove magic is just science."
"You're insane, Ying." He looked at her with a smile. "Want a smoke?"
"Yes, please."
Virgin trains. Haha, hilarious. Sirius had always wanted to take the train so he could proudly proclaim that he had been in a virgin. She took off her glasses, watching as the English countryside sped past her. If he had been here, he would probably have made a joke about the past, tell her about how terrible Grimmaud Place was and how he'd spruce it up after the war. She closed her eyes.
They were seventeen. The grass next to the Great Lake had grown long. Little white flowers were blooming across it. She threaded the fingers of her left hand amidst the stems and blew out a ring of smoke.
"Hey Ying," Sirius broke the silence.
"Mm?"
"You're one of the only family I have."
She closed her eyes lazily.
"Love you too, Sirius."